“I think we may have gotten a little big-headed because of (Thursday) night’s win (over Central Valley),” Jeter said. “That’s a great team over there. Jeff Ackerman is one of the best coaches in the WPIAL. We just lost focus.”

Jeter sensed that focus slipping on the bus ride to CCBC’s campus. He sensed it further when Pine-Richland opened the game on a 7-0 run, and even more when the initial spread widened to 16-2. Beaver Falls was never in the game, and at one point went over 10 minutes without a basket made from the floor.

The Tigers had a long talk in the locker room afterward, and Jeter had further discussion with his assistants following that chat.

“We addressed it as a coaching staff, and we had a good long talk about it after the game,” Jeter said. “I hope we learn from that. It was definitely embarrassing. We also talked about Beaver Falls pride. That wasn’t Beaver Falls basketball.”

Jeter said this wasn’t the first lost game for the Tigers this season. Beaver Falls also struggled with its focus in a 49-42 win over Ellwood City. Pine-Richland delivered a much ruder awakening.

“We keep saying we’re a young basketball team, but we are a young basketball team,” Jeter said. “We have two guys with any type of experience out of 16 guys. But I’m not looking at that as an excuse.”

What has Jeter hopeful is the way the Tigers played in the games leading up to the loss to Pine-Richland. Plus, Friday’s game was a non-section contest, and for Beaver Falls, section play matters most.

“Not just yesterday or tonight, but since we started that four-game winning streak, they started improving every day. They started listening a little bit more,” Jeter said. “I started seeing them grow a little bit as a team.”

Now Beaver Falls will turn its focus to perhaps the biggest game of the season so far. Beaver Falls is 2-0 in Section 1-3A and will host perennial power Lincoln Park next Friday in a crucial section game. Jeter is optimistic his Tigers will come ready to play.

“One game doesn’t define us as a team. It’s embarrassing to me as a coach and it’s embarrassing to those guys, too,” he said. “So I know they’ll come in Monday and get ready to go back to work.”

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